The obstacles that appear in our lives are part of the journey. No one escapes conflict, struggles, challenges, and stress. The courage it takes just to enter this life, surviving our birth is the apparent first step! Wow, what an entrance, every single time. If the challenges and road blocks are not present, we do not ignite persistence, imagination, and creativity.
Be diligent. Be disciplined. Let nothing get in your way of you and your happiness, your end goal, whatever it may be. Mediocrity has no place here. When I began modeling I used to send photos taped to cardboard and mail them to all of the top magazines, even before I had an agency! I wrote on each 8x10 cardboard: Hands: long and lovely. Legs: long and lean. I went above and beyond the normal realm of trying. I sent out hundreds of photos and paid for everything myself, and saved money to do this by serving in restaurants in the evenings.
We must never give in. We must never give up. It takes commitment, mistakes, and lessons learned from those mistakes. It takes disappointment. I am a sum total of all of my experiences, and the reactions and feelings surrounding them, not just those easy and successful experiences. That added to the tapestry of who I am now.
But, we humans are always changing. That much is true. So my goals, dreams, and desires will change as I grow and reach some new understandings. When I meet a goal, I dream up a new one, or one falls into my lap unexpectedly. And so the cycle continues. It is that way for all of us! As Dorrie says in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming." Those words have popped into my life so many times over the years. When I feel like I'm not on my game, things are sucky, I'm feeling not quite myself, I am suffering from low self esteem. The head games we play surrounding aging and the normal decline of body parts can cause us anxiety or depression symptoms. That is why self care is so important in my coaching practice, and in my own life. Self care can be whatever gives us a break, or a challenge. It is essential to our growth and change as humans. Restorative practices allow things to simmer, like yoga, a long walk outside, or a massage giving us the marination of the mind, body, and spirit. So as we change and grow, growing older and suffering do not always have to be synonymous.
How about you? What have you practiced when you face obstacles in your life? What are you dipping your toe into that is a restorative practice that promotes change? I want to hear from you! Fill out the contact form on the home page.
Blessings,
KJ Landis
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